


The X Factor

by Thatfandomfreakk



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: 5 Seconds of Summer - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Boys Kissing, Boys' Love, Cake, Kissing, Love, M/M, Mashton, Shy!Luke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-07
Updated: 2014-12-07
Packaged: 2018-02-28 12:12:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2732027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatfandomfreakk/pseuds/Thatfandomfreakk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: Calum Hood is in a band called 5 Seconds of Summer, along with his two best friends Michael and Ashton. They decide to audition for the X Factor for a bit of fun, just to see if anyone thinks they are any good – but their audition doesn’t go to plan. The judges aren’t too impressed, and although they scrape through they leave the stage disheartened. Cue Luke Hemmings, singer and guitarist with a totally punk-rock lip ring and hair taller than the empire state building. Personally, Calum thinks he looks like a wannabe rockstar and is less than impressed when the judges decide to make him part of 5SOS – that is, until Luke awes them with his amazing singing voice and he finds out Luke is really just an adorable, cuddly penguin-lover – albeit a very hot one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The X Factor

It was all good and fine in the car screaming Nickelback at the top of their lungs, Calum thinks, but now that he’s waiting backstage to be called onstage his heart is in his throat and there are giant radioactive moths battering his stomach from the inside out. There’s this boy called Luke who keeps trying to talk to him – rambling on and on about useless things Calum really doesn’t care about at all – but despite all his attempts to politely tell the guy to please go away because now’s really not the time, he doesn’t seem to get the picture. So he just carries on talking.  
“What did you say your name was again – Cal – Cal-what was it?”  
Calum reluctantly looks at him. “Calum.”  
“Right. Calum.” Luke smiles nervously. “Calum’s a nice name. I like it. Suits you. I think so anyway. Do you think Luke suits me? I’m not sure it does. Because-”  
“I think Luke suits you very well.” Calum tries for a smile. Frankly, he doesn’t give a shit whether Luke’s name suits him or not – he just wants to get this audition over and done with.  
“Really?” Luke says breathlessly. “Thank you.” He looks down and – is he blushing?  
Luke looks up at Calum through his eyelashes and chews on his lip ring nervously whilst leaning forward on his hands which rest on the edge of his seat. Calum cuts off any thought which even slightly suggests that that expression on Luke is extremely adorable, because Luke’s not adorable, he’s annoying.  
Calum clears his throat.  
“Sorry,” Luke says. “I’m – I’m just really nervous, you know? I just, I tend to talk a lot when I’m nervous-”  
“You don’t say.” Calum mutters. Luke’s shoulders droop. “You hate me, don’t you? This is why I don’t have friends. I always get too nervous and they just end up hating me and-”  
“Luke, shut up!” Calum says. There’s a pause, then: “Sorry.” Luke says quietly.  
Calum sighs. “Look-”  
“5 Seconds of Summer? You’re next on stage.” Calum’s head jerks up to see a young man standing with a clipboard next to him.  
“Right – yeah. Um – right – I’ll just – MICHAEL, ASHTON GET THE FUCK OVER HERE, IT’S US NEXT,” Calum shouts over his shoulder. The man looks shocked, his expression almost comical, and Luke laughs quietly. Calum smiles to himself, knowing he made Luke laugh.  
Michael and Ashton appear behind him, Ashton jumping around energetically and Michael shoving in some gummy worms desperately.  
“I – uh – right this way.” The man says, still slightly flustered.  
“Good luck, Calum!” Luke calls after him as he makes his way towards the stage. Calum lifts his hand in what some people might consider to be a wave. “Thanks, Luke,” he mumbles.  
************  
Well shit.  
Calum's band's performance was terrible, and they knew it. The judges had basically said they were trying to be punk-rock when they were clearly not, they were a stereotypical boyband, they should stop trying to be something they’re not, etc. They had still got through, but the audition is when you get the crowd’s attention, when you get people to like you. And that did not happen.  
Calum flops down on his bed and groans. He buries his head in his pillow and breathes in the familiar scent of home.  
“Calum, watch out!” Calum hears Michael’s voice yell, and then there’s a weight on top of him. He groans again.  
“Michael, what the fuck!”  
“What?” Michael’s muffled voice says from somewhere in the covers. Calum sighs. “Ashton, help me!” He says loudly.  
“Michael, I’m eating your pizza!” Ashton yells from the kitchen.  
Michael scrambles up immediately, skidding towards the kitchen. “ASHTON FLETCHER IRWIN, IF YOU EVEN DARE TO PUT ONE FINGER ON MY PIZZA-”  
Calum tunes out Michael’s voice, the reluctant smile gone from his face. We really needed to step up our game if we were ever going to get people to like our band, he thought.  
*************  
“…and so we have decided that Luke will join your band.”  
What?  
Calum groans internally. Is this really happening? He can’t put up with Luke for a few minutes, let alone spend every day with him. Calum looks over at the boy in question, and he gives him the thumbs up, a massive grin on his face. Calum sighs. Why did we decide to audition in the first place?  
*************  
The first band practise with Luke?  
It sucked.  
Luke was constantly talking, suggesting this, improving that – and yes, Calum has to admit some of his suggestions were reasonably good, but he had just overall been really annoying. At one point, near the end of practise, Calum had just told him outright to shut up, and immediately regretted it when Luke’s face fell and he looked down, mumbling a quiet “okay”.  
He hadn’t talked much after that.  
“Luke? You coming?” Ashton asks when Luke shows no sign of leaving after practise.  
“Oh – no, you guys go on, I – just need to check something.”  
“Um, okay.” Ashton says, shrugging, and slings his arm over Michael’s shoulders, leaving the room. Calum follows after them, but stops at the doorway, looking back at the downcast droop of Luke’s shoulders. He sighs, suddenly feeling extremely guilty. He’s about to say something along the lines of an apology, but then Luke gets up from the stool he is sitting on, and moves to the corner of the room, picking up Michael’s guitar that he always leaves in there when he’s not using it. Calum frowns. Luke plays the guitar?  
Luke sits back on the stool and hesitates for a moment, his hands poised to start playing. Slowly his fingers start to move and a soft melody fills the room; after a moment Calum identifies it to be the intro to “A Team” by Ed Sheeran.  
He’s good.  
Luke opens his mouth to sing, takes a breath – and then stops. His hand stills and he furrows his brow, looking annoyed. He huffs, shakes his head a little, and starts again.  
The same thing happens.  
This is just getting old now, Calum thinks, rolling his eyes. Has he forgotten the words or something?  
“Look, do you know the words or not?” Calum speaks up, making Luke jump so hard he almost drops the guitar.  
“I – I just, no, I was just-” Luke stutters, looking genuinely scared. Calum feels even guiltier now. Great.  
Calum sighs, and comes to sit on the stool next to Luke. He looks at him expectantly.  
“Well?”  
Luke immediately tries to start playing again, fingers slipping in his haste.  
“Woah, calm down, there’s no rush,” Calum says, putting his hand on top of Luke’s, stopping his playing for a moment. He hears Luke’s breath hitch and he stares at Calum with wide eyes.  
Oh right, the crush.  
Calum pulls his hand away, clearing his throat, and gestures for Luke to start again.  
This time the tune comes out unmarred, and Calum clears his throat.  
"White lips, pale face  
Breathing in snowflakes  
Burnt lungs, sour taste"  
Luke stares at Calum with his big blue eyes and he looks away quickly so as not to stumble over the next lines.  
"Light's gone, day's end  
Struggling to pay rent  
Long nights, strange men"  
Calum gestures for Luke to carry on with the chorus – might as well see what he’s like, get it over and done with. He prepares for the worst, and then –  
"And they say  
She's in the Class A Team  
Stuck in her daydream  
Been this way since eighteen  
But lately her face seems"  
What the fuck?  
Calum stares at Luke, dumbstruck. Luke’s eyes flick to him, nervous, before looking away and staring determinedly at a spot on the far wall.  
Luke’s amazing.  
"Slowly sinking, wasting  
Crumbling like pastries  
And they scream  
The worst things in life come free to us"  
Calum quickly pulls himself together long enough to come in for the next few lines, and Luke smiles slightly, hearing them sing together so well.  
"'Cause we're just under the upper hand  
And go mad for a couple grams"  
Calum stops, letting Luke sing the next lines, and then comes in on the same place he did last time. He can’t help but think they actually sound really good together, and he suddenly finds Luke a whole lot more attractive all of a sudden.  
Luke, noticing that Calum probably isn’t going to come in, starts singing the next verse, that smile still playing around the edges of his mouth.  
"Ripped gloves, raincoat  
Tried to swim and stay afloat  
Dry house, wet clothes"  
Calum, slowly getting over the shock of hearing Luke’s voice, starts smiling too, enjoying himself, and when Luke glances at him Calum’s smile only gets bigger.  
"Loose change, bank notes  
Weary-eyed, dry throat  
Call girl, no phone  
And they say  
She's in the Class A Team  
Stuck in her daydream  
Been this way since eighteen  
But lately her face seems"  
Luke glances at Calum, smiling at him, and Calum pretends not to notice, but then he can’t keep a straight face anymore and he snorts at Luke’s adorableness, shaking his head and Luke laughs through the next few lines, and it’s like they’ve been friends their entire life.  
"Slowly sinking, wasting  
Crumbling like pastries  
And they scream  
The worst things in life come free to us"  
They sing the next chorus and a half like they did before, occasionally giggling at each other and Calum wonders how he didn’t like this boy before.  
“Yeah!” Luke says in a high-pitched voice when the remnants of the tune drifted into a comfortable quiet. Calum can’t help but laugh at his cuteness.  
“Mr Simon Cowell, did we get through?” Calum says in an exaggerated English accent, putting on a fake serious face. Luke giggles.  
“It’s a yes from me!” Luke replies in an equally stupid voice, and they both burst out laughing.  
“You know what, maybe you aren’t so bad after all,” Calum says to Luke, still smiling. Luke blushes and looks down, but this time Calum keeps his steady gaze on the boy, his smile only widening.  
*************  
The next day, at their second band practise since Luke joined the band, Calum bounds in excitedly, having caught a wild Lucas Hemmings on his way to Michael’s garage. They are both laughing as Calum tows Luke in by the hand, and Ashton and Michael look up, surprised, from where Michael’s head is resting on Ashton’s shoulder with Ash’s arm around him. Calum stops short, his smile only widening.  
“Hey Luke, I think we walked in on a Mashton moment.” He giggles and Luke rolls his eyes.  
“That sound like a really cheesy kid’s TV show.” He says dryly. Calum laughs and Luke looks extremely pleased with himself.  
“Mashton?” Ash interrupts, “have you seen yourselves? You’re acting like lovestruck schoolgirls.”  
Luke looks embarrassed, but Calum only gets more excited. “Luke! We need a name.”  
“Um, Calum?” Luke says uncertainly, “we already have names. Yours is Calum, and-”  
“I know, Lucas,” Calum says, rolling his eyes, “I meant one like Mashton. Like, um, Lalum? Oh God no, that’s horrible. Cuke? C – C –”  
“CAKE!” Michael suddenly shouts, his mouth right next to Ashton’s ear, and Ash jumps a foot in the air.  
“Jesus Christ, Michael calm down!” Ashton yells only a little more quietly, but he’s laughing.  
“Yes! Cake, fuck yes!” Calum says, jumping onto Luke and hugging him like a koala, laughing when Luke stumbles.  
“DON’T SWEAR!” Ashton yells, sounding like a parent with two naughty toddlers.  
“I’M PUNK ROCK; I CAN DO WHAT I WANT!” Calum yells, and Luke’s laughing so much that his knees go weak and before he can do anything about it, he’s falling backwards and then the newly named “Cake” are in a tangled heap on the floor, laughing their asses off.  
Michael chuckles. “Dicks.” He mutters, smiling, but his mouth is still right next to Ashton’s ear and his warm breath makes Ashton shiver. He grins.  
“What, aren’t you going to tell me off for swearing?” Michael says innocently.  
“Fuck you,” Ashton grumbles, hitting Michael’s chest, and Michael laughs, kissing Ashton’s cheek so quickly the older boy isn’t sure it actually happened.  
*************  
They are ready.  
5 Seconds of Summer are backstage, ready to perform for the second time on The X Factor. They had practised with newfound determinedness and Calum is fairly sure that after this performance the judges wouldn’t think of them as “that boyband who can kind of sing but yeah no one really cares” – and it’s really all thanks to Luke. He is sort of the missing puzzle piece in their band – before, they were good, but now they are amazing.  
“5 Seconds of Summer, you’re onstage in five, four, three, two, one,”  
A different guy with a clipboard ushers them onstage and they are met with quiet cheers and polite clapping. Calum is internally cringing.  
“Hi, boys,” says one of the judges extremely enthusiastically (note the sarcasm).  
“Hi!” Says Ashton, speaking for the band.  
“So what are you going to sing for us today?”  
“Uh, we’re going to sing a song written by us: it’s one that we really sort of connect with, as a band-”  
“Ashton, no one cares.” Says Michael, before realising there is a mic right in front of him, and covering his mouth with his hand embarrassed – but the crowd are laughing, and one or two of the judges even crack a smile.  
“Sorry.” Michael mutters, smiling sheepishly, and Ashton rolls his eyes. “Anyway, it’s called rejects... and , yeah. Let’s do this.”  
“Okay whenever you’re ready.” The same judge says, and then the audience is silent as the boys go to their respective places, Luke and Michael with their guitars, Calum with his bass and Ashton seated behind his drums.  
Calum can almost feel the judges’ stares on him, bracing themselves for the worst.  
Fuck it, let’s prove them wrong.  
Ashton plays the opening beat on his drums and then Luke’s joining in with his guitar, and Calum can tell this is completely not what the crowd was expecting. Calum smiles as Luke sings the first verse.  
"Back at school they all thought I was an outcast, car crash  
'A hopeless fool,' they said to me  
And my girlfriend said I messed up, will I ever grow up?  
In the end  
I’m not gunna"  
A few of the crowd becomes un-shocked enough to start clapping along to the beat, and through the onstage lights Calum thinks he can see the judges exchanging looks – good or bad, he doesn’t know.  
Calum and Michael join in for the chorus, earning a few cheers for the crowd as the song gets louder and more punk-rock.  
"What was I thinking?  
Everyone sees it  
It’s not a secret that I’m just a reject  
Sick of the system  
Don’t wanna hear it  
It’s not a secret that I’m just a reject"  
When Michael starts singing his verse, the crowd goes crazy. Calum grins, knowing this was really Michael’s type of song, and he feels a surge of pride as Michael almost screams into the microphone.  
"My teacher said I was mentally disabled, so unstable  
So I’ll stay in bed all day  
Save your breath – you can talk at me but I’m not listening  
If this is a test then I’m probably failing"  
They sing the chorus again, and by now the crowd is going crazy, clapping along to the song, some even singing along, having already learnt the chorus from the one before. Calum can see the judges’ silhouettes, and a few of them and even standing up and dancing to the song.  
Not so much of an alright-boyband now, are we? Calum thinks smugly to himself.  
Luke starts to sing again, and Calum watches him, once again amazed at his voice.  
"They try to save me but I’m too far gone  
And they call me crazy so I play along"  
Luke looks at Calum and grins, singing the next line, not taking his eyes off Calum’s face.  
And you wanna change me but I’m on my own"  
They all look at the judges, as if to say, not so smug now, are you?  
"LA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA!"  
Michael, Luke and Calum all step back from their microphones and jump about ten feet in the air – in unison – making the crowd go even more crazy than they already were. Michael goes down the steps and over to the small bit of stage by the judges and motions for the crowd to be louder.  
To say they obey would be an understatement.  
"LA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA!"  
Michael runs back onstage for the last chorus, and Calum grins at him Luke as he yells “SING IT!” into the mic.  
"What was I thinking?  
Everyone sees it  
It’s not a secret that I’m just a reject  
Sick of the system  
Don’t wanna hear it  
It's not a secret that I'm just a reject  
I’m just a reject  
I’m just a reject"  
The song ends, and immediately both the crowd and the judges are on their feet; the room is filled with noise, and as Calum meets Luke’s eyes through the flashing lights and stamping feet, all he can think is:  
We did it.  
*************  
Calum, Luke, Michael and Ashton all cheer as they pile into Michael’s living room; Ashton slings an arm over Michael’s shoulders and Luke jumps onto Calum’s back. Through their shouting, Michael yells, “THIS CALLS FOR PIZZA!” which, in turn, causes another bout of cheering.  
Calum drops Luke unceremoniously onto the couch, and then falls on top of him, ignoring the muffled “oomph” Luke makes. Calum snuggles down onto Luke, shutting his eyes.  
“Ah! Calum, get off; you’re squishing me!” Luke laughs into Calum’s chest. Calum replies with a simple “no,” opening his eyes and staring down into Luke’s blue ones. But then Luke pouts and widens his eyes and he looks so fucking adorable and Calum’s asdfghjkling and he can’t, so he reluctantly rolls to this side so he’s squished in between the back of the couch and Luke. He wraps his arm around Luke’s middle and snuggles into Luke’s chest – and he can feel Luke’s heart beating erratically.  
Maybe moving wasn’t such a bad idea after all.  
“Uh, Michael? I don’t think we need pizza: we’ve got enough Cake already,” Ashton calls to Michael, who’s warming up leftover pizza from one or two nights ago.  
“Oh God, are they being all couply again?” Michael fake-groans, but Calum can hear his smile through his tone of voice.  
“Shut up; I’m sleeping!” Calum yells, pressing his face further into Luke’s chest. Luke tightens his arm around Calum – and then Calum feels a gentle pressure on his forehead, and he realises Luke just kissed him.  
A warm feeling spreads through his body and he grins, moving his leg so it’s slightly over Luke’s and tightens his arm around Luke’s middle.  
“Yeah, I get what you mean.” Calum hears Michael’s voice and cracks one eye open to see Michael leaning on the arm of the sofa Ashton’s sitting on, holding a plateful of pizza. Calum’s eyes widen and he reaches up with one hand.  
“Pizza!” He yells, gesturing for Michael to pass him some. Michael grins. “Nope.” He says, sitting so close to Ashton you couldn’t fit a piece of paper in between them, and picks up a slice, shoving it in his mouth. Ashton opens his mouth, turning to Michael, and Michael puts a massive bit of the slice in Ashton’s mouth.  
“Mmmmmm!” Ashton says in protest, and Michael laughs.  
“Hey, how come you give Ashton a slice and not me?” Calum says indignantly.  
“Maybe Mashton is just better than Cake.” Michael says. Calum fake-gasps, “how dare you?”  
“Just admit it and I’ll give you some,” Michael laughs. Calum opens his mouth to respond, but Luke gets there before him.  
“Mashton is better than Cake, now give me a slice!” Says Luke quickly. Calum gasps again and sits up, untangling his legs from Luke’s.  
“Luke! I can’t believe you would betray me like this,” He says, desperately trying to keep a straight face. Calum turns away so Luke can’t see his smile, and feels the sofa go up slightly as Luke gets up. When he comes back, the sofa dips right next to Calum.  
“Caaaaaalum, don’t be mad at me,” Luke says, and he genuinely sounds so upset. Calum turns and finds him holding two slices of pizza in one hand and giving him that pouty – puppy dog look again. He holds out a slice of pizza as a peace offering and Calum lets himself smile a small smile whilst he opens his mouth for the pizza. Unlike Michael, Luke feeds Calum a reasonable amount and Calum bites it off, never taking his eyes off Luke’s. Suddenly Luke’s eyes dart down to Calum's chin and he grins, a small giggle escaping his mouth.  
Fucking hell, Hemmings, do you have to be so adorable?  
Calum is so concentrated on Luke’s giggle that he almost doesn’t notice when Luke reaches up and wipes his chin, his thumb coming away splashed with tomato sauce, and puts his thumb in Calum’s mouth. Calum sucks it, licking away all the sauce, his cheekbones hollowing and his eyes wide as he stared up at Luke. Suddenly Luke’s eyes go wide and his cheeks flush and he takes his thumb out of Calum’s mouth quickly, sitting back next to him, his knees pulled up to his chest.  
“Luke, are you okay?” Calum asks, confused. Luke nods weakly and wraps his arms around his knees, blushing furiously. Calum looks at Ashton and Michael to see if they know what just happened, but soon realise they won’t be much use, as they are in their own little world: Ashton is feeding Michael pizza this time; Michael tries to bite a piece off but just ends up with part of the slice in his mouth and part of it hanging out. Ashton laughs quietly, but then, in a surprising move, bites off the excess pizza, his lips brushing Michael’s as he does. Michael’s cheeks colour considerably.  
Calum mentally awwwws and nudges Luke, nodding to the adorable Mashton ship sailing off into the distance. Luke smiles slightly, and then looks back at Calum, eyes darting, again, to Calum’s lips but with a very different expression on his face this time.  
“Calum?” Luke says, quietly.  
“Yes, Luke?” Calum answers just as quietly, though he doesn’t know why.  
“I … I think you might still have some stuff on your mouth.”  
“Oh …” He raises his hand to his mouth and wipes it. “Gone?” He asks. Luke smiles, shaking his head. “Let me …” He says, leaning forward.  
“Luke, what are you …?” Calum trails off as Luke’s lips stop, a millimetre away from his.  
“Hang on, let me just …” His lips gently brush over Calum’s. “I think it’s almost gone, I just need to …” Luke moves that little bit further and presses his lips harder to Calum’s, and Calum can’t think straight. His thoughts are going haywire as Luke pulls away again, whispers: “Just a little bit more-” and kisses Calum again, think time an open-mouthed kiss. Luke doesn’t bother with pretending Calum has tomato sauce on his mouth anymore; he just kisses Calum, lots of gentle kisses, leaving Calum breathless as he kisses Luke back, feeling just as he did before he went on stage for their first performance, when Luke wasn’t even in the band, except so much better.  
Finally Luke pulls back. “I think it’s all gone now.” He says breathlessly. Calum stares at him for a moment, still dumbstruck, and then laughs, rolling his eyes and shuffles over to Luke, practically sitting on his lap, and curls up there, tucking his head into the crook of Luke’s neck.  
“Thank you.”  
“For what?” Luke asks, sounding amused.  
“Auditioning the same year we did. Being able to sing and play guitar. Being cute and fucking hot at the same time. Having a sexy lip ring and hair taller than the empire state building. Being 75% legs. Being adorable. Being you – just existing, really.”  
Calum feels Luke’s heart doing the flippy-over-thing underneath his head and smiles, knowing he made it do that. Luke nuzzles his nose into Calum’s hair and grins.  
“Can I just marry you right now?” Luke mumbles.  
Calum laughs. “Only if there’s pizza.”


End file.
